Lochend Urban Oasis, Edinburgh

Lochend Urban Oasis, Edinburgh

Client: Places for People
Architect: EMA Architects
Cost: £20.0m

A 215 unit residential project with a mixture of low rise and 8 storey apartment blocks.

We were commissioned by Places for People as a consequence of our work at Gracemount to provide the same high level of Engineering input to enable the difficult and complicated site to be unlocked.  215 units are proposed for this site, however, the biggest issues to be overcome were the significant level change and proximity of the railway on two sides and a severely land-locked location.  We provided full infrastructure design, including liaison with local authorities, Network Rail, Scottish Water and City of Edinburgh Council to help unlock the development.

Numerous and complex issues which were overcome included:-

• Providing a design solution to current SUDS standards, as opposed to those previously considered.
• Refreshing previous statutory consents
• Interfacing and negotiating with Network Rail as adjacent landowner and achieving development consents.
• Preparing design options for low lying site levels which include pump station and extensive site level raising.
• Design of 6m high retaining wall along the site frontage and interface with building foundations within 1m of the wall.
• Achieving all necessary technical consents.
• Design of a twin large diameter tank sewer attenuation system of 300m³ capacity at extraordinarily shallow depth and interface with other utility routes on this restricted site.
• Coordination and teamwork with the Landscape Architect helped to achieve the Client’s aspiration by adjusting service routes to avoid clashes.